ITV Plans Further Cuts; ’09 Ad Sales Will Fall £100 Million

It has already announced it will reduce its workforce by 1,000, but now ITV (LSE: ITV) is set to cut costs even further after bringing in Boston Consulting Group for another round of efficiency driving. An ITV spokeswoman confirmed to us the consultants had been hired but there’s no official word yet on the savings target – FT.com puts the figures at “tens of millions” of pounds. Chief operating officer John Cresswell wrote to staff yesterday informing the ad revenue was expected to drop by five percent this year and a further six to seven percent, or £100 million, in 2009.” ITV plans to save around £116 million from cutbacks and restructuring, including its merging of regional news offices, but it almost seems that advertising income is dropping faster than ITV can cut costs. BCG advised ITV on its round of cuts earlier this year, but only looked at two divisions: brand and commerical, and global content. So there’s plenty of other parts of the business to scrutinise. Via Telegraph.co.uk.

Update:FT.com reports that BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) will continue its legal fight to hold on its 17.9 percent stake in ITV by appealing to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. In September the CAT upheld a decision from the Competition Commission that Sky’s share in its rival, worth £940 million, was distorting the market. Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED) called the appeal “a blatant attempt to delay an already drawn-out process still further”.